San Juan(EFE) — Puerto Rico’s Tourism Company (CTPR) Executive Director Willianette Robles Cancel announced Friday that the 2025-2026 peak cruise season — known in the industry as the winter season — closed with a 43% increase in passenger volume compared to the prior year.
According to the latest cruise passenger movement data for Old San Juan, Puerto Rico recorded a total of 1,360,937 passengers between November 2025 and April 2026. During the same period, which historically concentrates the highest cruise activity in the Caribbean, the island logged a combined total of 515 port operations and calls — a 34% increase over the same period in the previous season.
“Puerto Rico continues to consolidate its leadership within the Caribbean cruise industry. This peak winter season reflected extremely positive results in both passenger movement and port activity, demonstrating the confidence that major cruise lines maintain in our island,” said Robles Cancel.
The CTPR executive noted that each month of the high season surpassed the figures recorded during the same months in 2024, 2023, and 2022 — confirming a sustained growth trajectory for Puerto Rico’s cruise industry.
Particularly notable was the performance of the homeport segment in San Juan, which registered 371,536 passengers between November 2025 and April 2026 — a 76.6% increase over the same period in the prior season. The homeport segment is one of the island’s most significant economic drivers, generating hotel stays, restaurant spending, ground transportation activity, and additional commercial activity before and after each voyage.
The sharp growth in the homeport segment was driven primarily by the addition of the Grand Princess and additional Royal Caribbean sailings with the Jewel of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas. Norwegian Cruise Line also replaced its ship Viva with the higher-capacity Epic, and Princess Cruises reactivated sailings from Puerto Rico — its first departures from the island since 2011.
